State (theology)

Division of states

Most of this article is written from the viewpoint of the Catholic Church and is derived from the Catholic Encyclopedia, which "proposes to give its readers full and authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine". This article takes up the latter of the senses described in the introduction, according to the various classes of souls who aspire to perfection in this life. The Catholic Church Fathers and theologians distinguish three stages or states of perfection. These are the state of beginners, state of the progressing, and state of the perfect. These states are also designated "ways" because they are the ways in which God guides souls to Himself.

This traditional division of the spiritual life has been maintained since Pseudo-Dionysius, late 5th century Christian theologian, and the three states can be named, respectively, the "purgative way", the "illuminative way", and the "unitive way".

Among the condemned propositions of Miguel de Molinos, the author of the Quietist "Spiritual Guide" was the following: "These three kinds of way, the purgative, illuminative, and unitive, are the greatest absurdity in Mystical Theology".

Various descriptions and elaborations of these three ways are given by theologians, e.g. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross.

The purgative way

The purgative way (Greek: κάθαρσις, kátharsis "purification") is the way, or state, of those who are beginners, that is, those who have obtained justification but do not have their passions in such a state of subjugation, i.e., obedience to their intellects, that they can easily overcome temptations, and who, in order to preserve and increase the virtue of charity and the other virtues have to continually combat their disordered passions.

The distinctive characteristics of this state are war against those temptations that entice the soul to sin, i.e. attractions of sensual pleasure and repugnance to acts known to be in conformity to the will of God. The characteristic virtue of this state is humility, by which the soul is becomes increasingly apprised of its own weakness and its dependence upon the grace of God. What mystical writers describe as the active and passive purifications of the spiritual life may be brought under, and arranged according to, their three states of perfection, though not confined to any one of them.

The active purification consists of all the holy efforts, mortifications, labors, and sufferings by which the soul, aided by the grace of God, endeavors to reform the mind, heart, and the sensitive appetite. This is the characteristic work of the purgative way. The passive purifications are the means God employs to purify the soul from its vices and to prepare it for the exceptional graces of the supernatural life. In the works of St. John of the Cross, OCD these purifications are called "nights", and he divides them into two classes: the night of the senses and the night of the spirit.

In the state of beginners the soul is often favored by God with what are called "sensible consolations" because they have their beginning and are felt chiefly in the senses. They consist in sensible devotion and a feeling of fervour arising from the consideration of God's goodness, vividly represented to the mind and heart; or, from external aids, such as the ceremonies of the Church. These consolations are often withdrawn by God and followed by a state of desolation. At this point the passive purification of the senses begins.

The illuminative way

The illuminative way (Greek: θεωρία, theōría "contemplation") is that of those who are in the state of progress and have their passions better under control, so that they easily keep themselves from mortal sin, but who do not so easily avoid venial sins, because they still take pleasure in earthly things and allow their minds to be distracted by various imaginations and their hearts with numberless desires, though not in matters that are strictly unlawful. It is called the illuminative way, because in it the mind becomes more and more enlightened as to spiritual things and the practice of virtue. In this grade charity is stronger and more perfect than in the state of beginners; the soul is chiefly occupied with progress in the spiritual life and in all the virtues, both theological and moral. The practice of prayer suitable for this state is meditation on the mysteries of the Incarnation, the life of Our Savior, and the mysteries of his Sacred Passion. As Ven. Luis de Lapuente says,

Though the mysteries of the Passion belong to the illuminative way, especially in its highest degree, which approaches nearest to the unitive way, nevertheless, they are exceedingly profitable for all sorts of persons, by whatever way they walk, and in whatever degree of perfection they live; for sinners will find in them most effectual motives to purify themselves from all their sins; beginners to mortify their passions; proficients to increase in all kinds of virtue; and the perfect to obtain union with God by fervent love.

The fundamental virtue of this state is recollection, that is, a constant attention of the mind and of the affections of the heart to thoughts and sentiments that elevate the soul to God. Exterior recollection is the love of silence and retirement. Interior recollection is simplicity of spirit and a right intention, as well as attention to God in all our actions. This does not mean a person has to neglect the duties of his state or position in life, nor does it imply that honest and needful recreation should be avoided, because these lawful or necessary circumstances or occupations can well be reconciled with perfect recollection and the most holy union with God.

The soul in the illuminative way will have to experience periods of spiritual consolations and desolations. It does not at once enter upon the unitive way when it has passed through the aridities of the first purgation. It must spend some time, perhaps years, after quitting the state of beginners in exercising itself in the state of proficients. St. John of the Cross tells us that in this state the soul, like one released from a rigorous imprisonment, occupies itself in Divine thoughts with a much greater freedom and satisfaction, and its joy is more abundant and interior than it ever experienced before it entered the night of the senses. Its purgation is still somewhat incomplete, and the purification of the senses is not yet finished and perfect. It is not without aridities, darkness, and trials, sometimes more severe than in the past. During the period of desolation it will have to endure much suffering from temptations against the theological virtues and against the moral virtues. It will have to endure sometimes other diabolical attacks upon its imagination and senses. Also, God will permit natural causes to combine in afflicting the soul, such as the persecutions of men, and the ingratitude of friends. Patient suffering and resignation have to be borne during all these trials, and the devout soul should remember the words of Blosius:

Nothing more valuable can befall a man than tribulation, when it is endured with patience for the love of God; because there is no more certain sign of the divine election. But this should be understood quite as much of internal as of external trials people of a certain kind of piety forget.

And again he says,

It is the chain of patient suffering that forms the ring with which Christ espouses a soul to Himself.

The unitive way

The unitive way (Greek: θέωσις, théōsis "deification") is the way of those who are in the state of the perfect, that is, those who have their minds so drawn away from all temporal things that they enjoy great peace, who are neither agitated by various desires nor moved by any great extent by passion, and who have their minds chiefly fixed on God and their attention turned, either always or very frequently, to Him. It is the union with God by love and the actual experience and exercise of that love. It is called the state of "perfect charity", because souls who have reached that state are ever prompt in the exercise of charity by loving God habitually and by frequent and efficacious acts of that Divine virtue. It is called the "unitive" way because it is by love that the soul is united to God, and the more perfect the charity, the closer and more intimate is the union. Union with God is the principal study and endeavor of this state. It is of this union St. Paul speaks when he says: "He who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit.". Souls thus united to God are penetrated by the highest motives of the theological and moral virtues. In every circumstance of their lives the supernatural motive that ought to guide their actions is ever present to their mind, and the actions are performed under its inspiration with a force of will that makes their accomplishment easy and even delightful. These perfect souls are above all familiar with the doctrine and use of consolations and desolations. They are enlightened in the mysteries of the supernatural life, and they have experience of that truth proclaimed by St. Paul when he said: "We know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to His purpose, are called to be saints." (Romans 8:28). The form of prayer suitable to persons in the unitive way is the contemplation of the glorious mysteries of Our Lord, His Resurrection, Appearances, and Ascension, until the coming of the Holy Ghost, and the preaching of the Gospel. These mysteries may also be the subject of meditation for beginners and for those in a state of progress, but in a peculiar manner, they belong to the perfect. Union with God belongs substantially to all souls in a state of grace, but it is in a special manner the distinguishing characteristic of those in the unitive way or in the state of the perfect.

It is in this state that the gift of contemplation is imparted to the soul, though this is not always the case; because many souls who are perfect in the unitive way never receive in this life the gift of contemplation and there have been numerous saints who were not mystics or contemplatives and who nevertheless excelled in the practice of heroic virtue. Souls, however, who have attained to the unitive state have consolations of a purer and higher order than others, and are more often favored by extraordinary graces; and sometimes with the extraordinary phenomena of the mystical state such as ecstasies, raptures, and what is known as the prayer of union.

The soul, however, is not always in this state free from desolations and passive purgation. St. John of the Cross tells us that the purification of the spirit usually takes place after the purification of the senses. The night of the senses being over, the soul for some time enjoys, according to this eminent authority the sweet delights of contemplation; then, perhaps, when least expected the second night comes, far darker and far more miserable than the first, and this is called by him the purification of the spirit, which means the purification of the interior faculties, the intellect and the will. The temptations that assail the soul in this state are similar in their nature to those that afflict souls in the illuminative way, only more aggravated, because felt more keenly; and the withdrawal of the consolations of the spirit they have already experienced in their greatest affliction. To these trials are added others, peculiar to the spirit, which arise from the intensity of their love for God, for Whose possession they thirst and long. "The fire of Divine love can so dry up the spirit and enkindle its desire for satisfying its thirst that it turns upon itself a thousand times and longs for God in a thousand ways, as the Psalmist did when he said: For Thee my soul hath thirsted; for Thee my flesh O how many ways". There are three degrees of this species of suffering designated by mystical writers as the "inflammation of love", the "wounds of love", and the "langour of love".

States of consolation and desolation

Consolation and desolation may be said to be phases of the various stages or states of the spiritual life, rather than distinct states to themselves.

Consolation

In the spiritual order consolation is of three kinds.

The first kind, known as "sensible consolation," has its beginning and is felt chiefly in the senses or sensible faculties. It consists of sensible devotion and a feeling of fervour arising from the consideration of God's goodness vividly represented to the mind and heart; or from the external aids and ceremonies of the Church. It is not to be disregarded on this account because it leads us finally to good. St. Alphonsus says, "Spiritual consolations are gifts much more precious than all the riches and honors of the world. And if the sensibility itself is aroused, this completes our devotion, for then our whole being is united to God and tastes God." (Love for Jesus, xvii).

The second kind of consolation, which is often the result of the first, and usually remains with the third, is characterized by as facility and even a delight in the exercise of the virtues, especially the theological virtues. St. Ignatius says that any increase in faith, hope, and charity, may be called a consolation (Rule 3 for the discernment of spirits). By this kind of consolation the soul is raised above the sensible faculties; and in the absence of sensible consolation, truth is perceived at a glance, faith alone operating, enlightening, directing and sustaining the soul, and fervour of the will succeeds to sensible fervour. We should be thankful to God for consolations of this kind and pray for their continuance, and it is these we ask for in the prayer "En ego" usually recited after Communion.

The third kind of consolation affects the higher faculties of the soul, namely the intellect and the will, and in a more perfect way than the second. It consists in special tranquillity and peace of soul, and is the result of the firm determination of the will to live for God with entire confidence in His grace. It is present when, as St. Ignatius says, "the soul burns with the love of its Creator, and can no longer love any creature except for His sake" (Rule 3 for the discernment of spirits). The soul is conscious of its happiness even though the inferior and sensible faculties may be depressed and afflicted. This is the most perfect kind of all, and it is not often experienced except by the perfect. As the first kind is said to belong to beginners in the way of perfection, the second to those making progress, so the third is said to belong to the perfect.

Desolation

Spiritual desolation or spiritual dryness means the feeling of abandonment by God, and of the absence of His grace. This feeling of estrangement may arise from various causes. It may be the result of natural disposition or temperament, or of external circumstances; or it may come from the attacks of the devil; or from God Himself when for our greater good He withdraws from us spiritual consolation. In contradistinction to consolation spiritual desolation may be of three kinds.

The first is called sensible desolation and is the opposite of sensible consolation. It includes aridities, dissipation of mind, weariness, and disgust in the exercises of piety; and it is often experienced by beginners in the practice of mental prayer. It may co-exist with consolation of a higher order just as in the natural order, we may experience pain of body and joy of soul at one and the same time.

The second kind of desolation affects the intellect and will, and consists in the privation of the feeling of the presence of the supernatural virtues as described by St. Teresa of Avila in her Life (ch. xxx). This trial is extremely severe, but if generously accepted, and patiently endured, it may be turned into great merit, and many fruits of sanctity will be the result. (See Letter of St. Francis of Sales to St. Jane Frances de Chantal, 28 March 1612).

The third kind of desolation is still more severe. It is a darkening of the mind and a feeling of abandonment so great that the soul is tempted to distrust concerning salvation and is tormented by other terrible thoughts against faith, against purity, and even by blasphemous thoughts—the most painful experience a holy soul has to endure (see St. John of the Cross, op. cit., infra, bk. I, ch. xiv). It would be a great mistake to imagine that spiritual desolation arrests progress in virtue or enfeebles the spirit of fervour. On the contrary, it affords occasion of heroic virtue and of absolute detachment from sensible pleasure, whether natural or supernatural. At the same time we may hope and wish that these interior griefs may be diminished or made to disappear, and we may pray God to deliver us from them, but if all our efforts are in vain, and God permits the desolation to continue, it only remains to resign ourselves generously to His Divine Will.

Directions

Francisco Suárez teaches that:

"These three states are never so distinct that any one of them may not participate of the other two. Each of them takes its name and character from that which predominates in it. And it is certain that no one can attain to such a state of perfection in this life that he may not or cannot make further progress."

God sometimes withholds the favors of the unitive way from many faithful and fervent souls who have advanced generously in the degrees of the purgative and illuminative ways. As regards the gift of contemplation, it is sometimes granted to the imperfect and even to beginners so that they may taste of its sweetness. Souls by the exercise of Christian asceticism can prepare themselves for this intimate communication with God, but they should await with humility and patience the time and occasion.

For the better understanding of the three states or ways in their relations to each other and their effects upon souls tending toward perfection the following directions and observations may be useful.

The three states or ways are not so entirely distinct that there may not appear in any one of them something of the other two. In each and all of them is found the effort and care to preserve and guard the soul from sin, though this is said to belong (appropriately) to the purgative way; in each, virtue has to be practiced, and from its practice light and progress result. Again, in each of them the soul gives itself to God to live in Him and for Him the supernatural life which He imparts to it, and this amy be said to be the commencement of the unitive way. The characteristic and distinctive feature of these states is determined by the form which is dominant in the soul in its efforts toward perfection. When strife and fear predominate, the soul is said to be still in the purgative way. If charity is dominant above all the soul is in the unitive way; but so long as this mortal life lasts, for the strong and the feeble there will always be the labor and activity of purgation, illumination, and of union in the work of supernatural perfection. Suarez teaches this doctrine in very distinct terms. "These three states", he says, "are never so distinct that any one of them may not participate of the other two. Each of them takes its name and character from that which predominates in it. And it is certain that no one can attain to such a state of perfection in this life that he may not or cannot make further progress." (De Orat., I. II, c. xi, n. 4).

According to the usual manner of advancement, the majority of souls are gradually raised to the state of perfect union after passing through the states of purification and illumination. But this rule is by no means absolute, and a miraculous intervention of an extraordinary grace may bring a soul suddenly from the lowest depths of moral abjection to the most sublime heights of charity, as may be seen in the case of St. Mary Magdalen and other celebrated penitent saints. On the other hand, we may find saints in whom the purgative state may predominate even to the end of their lives, and God sometimes withholds the favors of the unitive way from many faithful and fervent souls who have advanced generously in the degrees of the purgative and illuminative ways, and who have all along preserved the fervour of holy charity, which is the essence and crown of perfection.

As a rule, supernatural phenomena of mysticism appear in the most perfect state, namely that of union; one special favor of the mystical life, namely spiritual espousals, supposes the unitive way, and cannot be ascribed to either of the inferior grades of perfection. Many of the other mystical favors, such as ecstasies, visions, locutions, etc., may be found, by way of exception, in the less advanced stages of the spiritual life. As regards the gift of contemplation, although it is proper to those who are perfect in virtue and holiness, still it is sometimes granted to the imperfect and even to beginners so that they may taste of its sweetness. Souls by the exercise of Christian asceticism can prepare themselves for this intimate communication with God, but they should await with humility and patience the time and occasion in which they are to be introduced by their heavenly Spouse into the mystical state of contemplation.

In order to decide as to the dispositions required for frequent and daily communion, it is no longer necessary for a spiritual director to find out or to judge whether a soul is in one or other of these states according to the rules laid down by some modern theologians. All that is now required, as stated in the first clause of the Decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Council of 20 December 1905, is that the recipient be in a state of grace and approach the Holy Table with a right intention. As already stated, these three states are not easily distinguishable, and the lines of demarcation between them cannot easily be discerned, and therefore could not have been regarded as at any time as very useful as a rule of guidance for frequent Communion. Now the rule is inapplicable, for those in the purgative way may receive Holy Communion just as often as those who are in the illuminative and unitive, as is evident from the decree referred to. We are not, however, to suppose that the rules given by theologians and ascetical writers, founded as they are, on the teachings of the ancient Fathers, with regard to Holy Communion according to the three states or ways no longer serve for edification. They indicate to us what is to be expected as the fruits of frequent Communion received worthily. Frequent Communion is the chief means of preserving and perfecting in our souls the spiritual life, and of supporting them in all its ways.